Exhausted but awake? A DIY meditation for Lyme disease insomnia

Deep sleep and detox - friends of the Lyme Warrior

Every time I have a flare, my Lyme disease insomnia rears its ugly head. Last week my husband brought home a nasty cold, and bam! My sleep was a mess.

Lyme insomnia is caused in part by the body struggling to detox. But lying in bed worrying that you can’t sleep just adds stress hormones to the list of toxins to clear. Meditation, help a sister out!

Last week I used one of my favorite meditations - it cleanses toxins AND helps me fall asleep. This meditation encourages movement within all the body’s fluids; blood, lymph, cerebrospinal fluid, and the interstitial fluid surrounding each cell. Each of those fluids help with detoxification in their own way, though you can visualize them all as one flow.

Here is a short (not science-y) overview of your major fluid systems, and how they fight for your health every damn day. I included links to articles that are more in depth, if you are interested. At the end are instructions for the meditation.

Your fluid systems are warriors for your health

Why your blood is amazing

Blood carries oxygen to every single cell in your body. Without oxygen, our mitochondria could not make energy. Mitochondria are responsible for ALL the energy in your body. (Chronic Fatigue? Definitely a mitochondrial issue in part.) Every breath you take brings oxygen into your blood stream, and life giving energy into your cells.

Your badass lymph

Lymph is the fluid responsible for killing and cleaning up viruses, bacteria, toxins and debris from your entire body. For us Lymies, Lymph is critical! Lymph moves through its own circulatory system, collecting in lymph nodes throughout your body, where white blood cells destroy anything that doesn’t serve your health.

Lymph can’t move itself - you have to move it through exercise, massage or dry brushing. You can also move it through visualization.

Cerebrospinal fluid, the ghost in the machine

CSF (for short) bathes your entire nervous system in a clear, clean, supportive fluid system. It has its own pulse, originating in the center of your brain. From your brain CSF flows down your spinal nerves, and out along every nerve in your body.

The flow of CSF is unbelievably calming. It is hard to feel your own CSF pulse, but you can feel it bathing your nervous system, soothing Lyme anxiety, and calming your mind.

Interstitial fluid

This fluid surrounds and supports every single cell in your body. Interstitial fluid gets picked up through osmosis into blood, lymph and cerebrospinal vessels. There it’s cleansed, circulated, and returned to bathe the cells again.

Our fluids are essentially a closed system, nourished by what we drink and eat. One fluid becomes the next becomes the next. This is why you can visualize them all as one - the tide that flows through your body always, detoxifying, soothing and healing.

Fluids in motion - my favorite meditation for Lyme disease insomnia

Tune in to your heartbeat

Lie down and get cozy. You can be in any position. Start by feeling your heart beat, gentle and ever present. Feel your blood pulsing with your heart rhythm. Maybe you can feel this pulse in your face or hands, as well as in your chest. Stay with it until the subtle feelings become clear.

Feel your breath rhythm rising and falling in waves

Let your awareness expand to include your breath rhythm, overlaying the rhythm of your heart beat. Imagine that the rising and falling of your inhale fills your body with warm water, and your exhale drains - like a wave rolling in to your body, then sliding back out. Stay with this until you can feel your breath in waves, and your heart beat beneath.

Feel a tidal rhythm moving through all of your body

Let the water flow through all parts of you. Are there any areas that don’t seem to move with the flow? Soften those areas with your awareness until the warm, watery motion flows all through your body, no barriers, no restrictions.

I usually need extra time with my shoulders, neck and head. Most of us hold tension in our neck and shoulders, and this tension blocks the movement of our fluids. (This can cause Lyme disease headaches!) Major byways for blood, lymph and cerebrospinal fluid flow down your neck. Spend as long as you need to feeling this tension melt away, allowing the gentle rise and fall of the warm tide within you, cleansing and healing, bringing deep rest and sleep.

I hope you enjoy this lovely meditation as much as I do. If you would like extra special support for fluid movement and detoxification, try my Cleansing - Lymphatic Flow meditation. It is 26 minutes long, and doesn’t guide you back to waking at the end. You can use it to drift off peacefully.

Please share this post with other Lyme Warriors who WILL kick this bug’s butt. There are share buttons below.

Wishing you the gentle sleep of my cat Timo, paws over her face. She never has insomnia, and only rarely dreams.